MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) March 20, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had affirmed its 'BBB+' ratings on Bank of Queensland Ltd. and Bendigo Bank Ltd., and revised the outlook to positive from stable on each entity. In addition, the ratings and outlook on Elders Rural Bank Ltd. remain unchanged (ERB; BBB-/Positive/A-3). These rating actions follow the announcement by Bank of Queensland that it has approached Bendigo Bank with a merger proposal. "If the merger proceeds, the combined group's scale and geographic diversity will be strengthened, although funding, capital, and integration risks remain," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Thomas Cherian of the Financial Services Ratings group. Standard&Poor's expects the ratings to be raised in
